Some residents of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) said Wednesday’s invasion of the Senate by hoodlums, who forcefully made away with the mace, exposed the poor security architecture in the country.
The residents, who spoke in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), described the incident as a “national embarrassment’’.
According to Mr Chucks Agi, the incident is an indictment on the security apparatus of the National Assembly.
He said that the ball was now in the court of security agencies to investigate and make arrests, adding that if there were compromised security personnel, they should be brought to book.
“It is condemnable to say the least; it is a national embarrassment, it is unfathomable that highly-placed Nigerians like senators will degenerate to this level of dirty politics and brigandage.
“For thugs to find their way into the complex and cart away the mace means that thugs can invade the complex and kidnap lawmakers; there must be collusion.
“This embarrassment must not be allowed to repeat itself,” Agi said.
A police officer, who does not want his name mentioned, said it was shameful that the National Assembly complex did not have CCTV cameras.
He said that such infrastructure of made policing easier and more effective.
“How can the national assembly not have security? How can an institution like that not have CCTV cameras that detect what happens in the chambers? This is why Nigeria is failing.
“Now, they said we should go and conduct `Stop and Search’ for the missing mace, disturbing road users who would be thinking that we want to extort money from them, thereby insulting the police,” he said.
Mrs Franca Unubi said that leaders in the country must wake up to their responsibilities of ensuring safety of lives and property.
She said that the terror experienced by the legislators was an insignificant fraction of what rural dwellers suffered in the hands of criminals.
“If this can happen at the National Assembly complex, then, who is safe in this country?
“The plight of rural dwellers, the agony suffered by villagers in this country has just been brought closer to their representatives for them to have a personal experience and take security seriously.
“Just like it happened today at the chambers, that is how people wake up to their daily activities and are attacked by herdsmen and nothing is done about it.
“Our leaders have to wake up and make this country safe for us all; if they do not, when criminals are done with the peasants, they take on the noble class,” she said.